[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 198 (Friday, October 12, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 62209-62210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25129]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
RIN 0648-BC37
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 38
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) Fishery
Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 38 to the Fishery
Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP)
for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 38 proposes
to modify post-season accountability measures (AMs) that affect
shallow-water grouper species (SWG), change the trigger for AMs, and
revise the Gulf reef fish framework procedure.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 11,
2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the amendment identified by
``NOAA-NMFS-2012-0149'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
``Instructions'' for submitting comments.
Mail: Steve Branstetter, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS,
263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required field if you wish to
remain anonymous).
To submit comments through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2012-0149'' in the search field
and click on ``search.'' After you locate the document ``Gulf of Mexico
Reef Fish Amendment 38,'' click the ``Submit a Comment'' link in that
row. This will display the comment web form. You can then enter your
submitter information (unless you prefer to remain anonymous), and type
your comment on the web form. You can also attach additional files (up
to 10MB) in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file
formats only.
Comments received through means not specified in this notice will
not be considered.
For further assistance with submitting a comment, see the
``Commenting'' section at http://www.regulations.gov/#!faqs or the Help
section at http://www.regulations.gov.
Electronic copies of Amendment 38 may be obtained from the
Southeast Regional Office Web site at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Branstetter, telephone: 727-824-
5305, or email: Steve.Branstetter@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef fish fishery of the Gulf is managed
under the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the Council and implemented
through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act).
Background
Accountability measures were established for gag and red grouper in
2009 through Amendment 30B to the FMP (74 FR 17603, April 16, 2009).
These AMs included the following provision: if the recreational sector
annual catch limit (ACL) for gag or red grouper is exceeded in the
current year, the recreational season for all SWG is shortened the
following year to ensure that the gag or red grouper recreational ACL
is not exceeded again. Regulations implemented through Amendment 32 to
the FMP (77 FR 6988, February 10, 2012) added more AMs, including in-
season closures for gag and red grouper, and overage adjustments for
gag and red grouper if they are overfished. Amendment 38 would modify
the post-season AMs for gag and red grouper so that the shortening of
the season following a season with an ACL overage applies only to the
species with landings that exceeded the ACL the prior year. Modifying
the AMs would improve the likelihood of achieving optimum yield for red
grouper and avoid unnecessary closures of all SWG species (i.e., gag,
red grouper, black
[[Page 62210]]
grouper, scamp, yellowfin grouper, and yellowmouth grouper).
The current method for determining if post-season AMs have been
triggered for red grouper or gag is to compute a one to 3-year moving
average of recreational landings, and to compare that moving average of
landings to the ACL. However, the use of a moving average has not been
practicable due to the frequent changes that have occurred in the ACLs.
In addition, the use of moving averages could potentially delay the
implementation of AMs by unduly masking sizeable harvest overages and
potentially slowing down the recovery of stocks under rebuilding.
Amendment 38 would remove the 3-year moving average, allowing AMs to be
based on comparison of the ACL to the current year's landings. A simple
comparison of the current year's landings to the ACL could provide
greater protection to the gag and red grouper stocks, be easier for
fishermen to understand, and be less burdensome to administer.
Amendment 38 would revise the list of management measures that may
be established or modified by the framework procedure specified in the
FMP. Specifically, Amendment 38 would add a list of the AMs that may be
revised through the Gulf reef fish framework process. Typically,
framework actions take less than a year to implement and are effective
until amended. Changes to AMs through the framework may result in
faster implementation of measures beneficial to fish stocks and fishery
participants. Additionally, Amendment 38 would update the language in
the framework procedure related to Council advisory panels and
committees. More general language in reference to Council committees
and advisory panels would replace specific references that are no
longer accurate.
A proposed rule that would implement measures outlined in Amendment
38 has been drafted. In accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS
is evaluating the proposed rule to determine whether it is consistent
with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law. If
that determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish the proposed rule
in the Federal Register for public review and comment.
Consideration of Public Comments
The Council submitted Amendment 38 for Secretarial review,
approval, and implementation on September 10, 2012. NMFS' decision to
approve, partially approve, or disapprove Amendment 38 will be based,
in part, on consideration of comments, recommendations, and information
received during the comment period on this notice of availability.
Public comments received on or before December 11, 2012, will be
considered by NMFS in its decision to approve, partially approve, or
disapprove Amendment 38. All comments received by NMFS on Amendment 38
or the proposed rule for Amendment 38 during their respective comment
periods will be addressed in a final rule.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 9, 2012.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-25129 Filed 10-11-12; 8:45 am]
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